This invention generally relates to improved mower reel units and mowing devices incorporating such units. More particularly, reel mowers and reel mower units are provided which achieve superior consistent cutting which avoids even the smallest of cutting irregularities along the reel. The reel blades are generally chevron-shaped and have chevron apexes. Respective apexes of adjacent blades are not in alignment with each other.
Reel mowers and reel mower units having chevron-shaped blades are generally known. Such chevron-shaped blades can be constructed of blades mounted in blade pairs in a generally end-to-end manner such that the paired blades meet at an obtuse angle with respect to each other, thereby providing a junction in the nature of a chevron or the apex of a chevron.
Reel mowers and reel mower units of this overall chevron type are illustrated in Cotton U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,724 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,666. The subject matter of each of these patents is incorporated by reference hereinto. As will be apparent from information such as these patents, various measures have been taken to improve the cutting properties of reel mowers, particularly those having chevron-shaped reel mower units. Steps which previously had been taken along these lines include adding biasing units directed toward maintaining a constant, uniform pressure between the chevron-shaped reel blades and the bedknife of the mower while the blades move over the bedknife. These types of devices can be further refined by adding a sensor which communicates with the biasing means in order to adjust the contact pressure of the biasing means in response to changing conditions. A feedback signal can be provided in order to adjust the pressure to a pre-selected value.
Despite the improvements which are proposed by proposed enhancements such as those of these patents, these types of reel units fall short of meeting stringent mowing requirements. An example will serve to illustrate the stringent requirements which are met by the present invention but which have not been achieved heretofore. The example is in golf course maintenance. While reliable mowing is important for golf course fairways, the standards to be adhered to are less stringent that those for the mowing of golf course greens. Greens of professional golf courses which are supervised by the most demanding of professional groundskeepers are scrutinized on a daily basis to insure a uniform cut throughout the green. It has been found that, without benefit of the present invention, variations in grass blade height can be detected by a professional groundskeeper. It is this cutting inconsistency which is successfully addressed by the present invention.